Boris bikes in NYC

When I went to London, I was surprised to see personal public transportation so readily available for the urban dwellers. It was the first time I ever heard of Boris bike (apologies if I misspelled it) and I was facsinated by the idea.

Citibank Bike station being
deployed next to Pace University

Today I saw Citibank desploy a station of "Boris" bikes next to my college and when I talked to the promoter, she said that the organization was installing over 300 stations all over the five boroughs. They also said that the process should take a couple weeks from today to finish and most of the stations would be put around the Financial District.

First thing i thought then was the price and amazingly it had the exact same pricing as in London! 0-30min i free and 1-2 hours is around 4 dollars.

Launched on 30 of July, 2010 by Mayor of that time, Boris Johnson. Barclays Cycle Hire deployed over 5000 bikes and over 300 docking stations all around London. The scheme invested over 25 million pounds (more than $40 million) and up to today is a great success.

I guess that from now on my foot will be resting a little more and my wallet will rest more in peace.

20+ spaces at this City Hall Station

Raising price? Why not service?

"The point is that if you do charge extra, then you also have to make sure that the charge is easy to digest."
-Frei & Morriss (Uncommon Service)-

Quick Recap

Some may think adding price to an added value is a fair trade off . Well sometimes its not like that. In any business field where customers are price-sensitive, a small raise in price -even by a dollar- may cause clients to flock from your business to another. But there is a way to hit both birds with a stone, maybe three.

Fedex initially added value to their brand by allowing customers to call in and track their package. This of course was expensive for the company to maintain a call service department and often times it was tedious for both parties due to communication obstacles. Fedex then took the idea of improving service while lowering cost by allowing their customers to track their package online.

Note here that Fedex didn't raise price, they just cut it. If they had raised it then there might be a chance they lose clients, but instead improved the service and kept the price steady. It inst guaranteed that they would earn more customers, but one thing is certain, Fedex customers felt comfortable with the company and that surely increased their loyalty. Though customers should all be treated equally, loyal customers is worth by far more than a regular client.

About the book

The book may be quite monotone sometimes, but it shows clear points that no service manager should avoid. Its affordable and doesn't take much time to speed read.

P.D. I have learned that sometimes cutting expenses on what you think what is good for customers is not always bad and the other way around.

ENJOY THE REST OF THE EVENING!!!

:)

When you most need it.

Today was a hard day. Like those dreaded days in your life you end up asking yourself "why me?". I had started the morning with an unexpected visit from my boss at the worse timing. I was watching YouTube when there nobody at the pharmacy, just after i had entered my break from website development. As soon as she left, the small place filled up with a never ending crowd! In the midst of the hectic environment, i forgot to call my partner about this deal we had to buy shirts for the pharmacy's advertising campaign. He canceled the deal and cut all the progress we had made.

Later on when all the patients were gone, boss showed up again, throwing all the paychecks for me and leaving me to decide how to deliver them. I decided to deliver the uptown branch myself for many reasons. On my way uptown Manhattan  my $39.99 earphones got stuck on the handrail of this staircase i took after making evasive maneuvers through the crowd, and ripped apart. I was pissed and tired. When i came back to the Chinatown branch, I waited nearly an hour for the boss and the head technician, Rowson (cool guy) to close the pharmacy.

After nearly a decade of waiting I finally resolved into leaving with my girlfriend. As a last minute planning, We both went to our favorite tea spot. I didn't feel like going, but she had been waiting for me at work so the least i could do was making it up for her.

We had fun, discussed about our days and had amazing drinks and food. Then i remembered how i felt throughout the day and went all stressed again. On our way to the train station she explained to me other reasons that may have caused the termination of the deal and other things. That helped me. Maybe the other guy really was having a bad day too, and if we meet again and don't get along, perhaps he's not the right person to make business with. I agreed.

When I got home, i dropped my bag on the floor, dragged my feet to my room and as i took off my jacket, i saw a small message written by my girlfriend i haven't seen before. Made my day and made the time typing this post worthwhile. Thank you Xenia :)

I guess that was a divine timing. Thank you Xenia, you're the best.

Anger is a choice.

"Its not what you eat that kills you, its what's eating you that kills you." -Pastor Kerrick-

Today I learned more about an emotion I thought I already knew. I learned how can it be triggered and how to defuse the landmine of Anger.

When we hear about anger, the first thing to pop in our heads may be someone shouting with squinting eyes and blood-rushed face. But what exactly is anger?

"Anger is the destructive emotion we feel when trying to control what is outside of our control." You see, we are ambitious beings, and many of us want to control everything. However, in the midst of controlling everything we tend to lose control of ourselves.

Alexander the Great conquered a great chunk of the world and in one of his celebrations he had an argument with one of his childhood friends, which resulted in Alexander killing him. He later recognized what he did and regretted bitterly. He had conquered the 'world', and yet he couldn't control his soul.

What I am saying here is that anger is a choice. Don't believe me? think of a time you were arguing with someone and in the midst of the argument the phone rang. What was your tone when you picked up the phone?

Eleanor Roosevelt once said,
         "To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use you heart."

Proverbs 29:11,
         "A fool gives full vent to anger, but a wise person quietly holds it back."

Have a nice day :)

Costa Rica from the Skies

         This is my city, my province, my homeland -San Jose, Costa Rica. Many times have I complained about her and few times have I praised it. I do miss it, true and this video changes my perspective. My country, my beautiful country. You have abolished your army in 1960, you have guaranteed free public education and you have been home to over 5% of the world's biodiversity. I could go on an hour about your deficiencies, but I could go instead a day about your legacies.

Personal Note #8

     There will ALWAYS be someone in any job that will give you a hard time even though in some cases their field of work has nothing to do with yours. Accept this fact and expected less from the future in the sense that there will be a perfect job with perfect coworkers.

     Focus on the small steps to fulfill your goal, not on the trivial traits of the environment and life will become easier to deal with.

You got to love "Hungover" :)

House = life

Life is like a house. Why? You will Find out tomorrow ;)